


weightless

by dulcemer



Series: susurrous nights [2]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Autistic Character, Experimental Style, F/F, Mental Health Issues, Mutant Powers, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 00:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18304247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dulcemer/pseuds/dulcemer
Summary: you should have something new too.maru pauses for a moment. stops herself from shaking her head. from saying that nothing here would suit her, which she knew to be true. yoshiko is looking at her with a newly found gleam in her eye and its kind of breath taking. she wants to see her beam more.okay.she says.find me something pretty.





	weightless

**Author's Note:**

> i dont think you necessarily have to read sonorous to understand this but it provides a bit of context i think??

hanamaru has always felt invisible.

yoshiko has always felt weightless.

the two make a pretty good pair actually.

hanamaru wonders how she casts no shadow, but thats a thought for another day. right now the pair are floating, blinked away from sight, hovering a few feet above the ground as a line of shambling bodies lope past, moaning as they go.

hanamaru wraps her arms tighter around yoshikos waist – feels her friend tug back desperately. the closeness is comforting.

when the mutants depart, yoshiko gently drops the pair on the floor, but they dont separate for another few minutes. marus fingers clutch tightly in yoshikos top. yoshikos breaths are ragged from fear and when maru brings herself to visibility she sees just how shaken her friend really is.

yoshiko has – had – still has, somewhere – this presence about her that to hanamaru always felt like she was in complete control of herself, so maru was always surprised to see her loose her cool.

_close, huh?_

yoshiko breaks the silence and barks a laugh but its forced and adrenaline fuelled. they dont linger long before ducking into a corner shop. yoshiko stands in the doorway as maru phases out of sight and checks for any other unwanted guests. she coughs before materialising beside yoshiko and flashes an ‘ok’ signal.

yoshiko immediately makes a beeline for the cigarettes and hanamaru watches in shock as yoshikos shaky hands rifles through the packet. she sparks a cigarette, deeply inhales, a look of peace finally on her face.

before she coughs rather violently.

_sorry, i, uh  
needed that._

hanamaru finds her voice.

_you smoke?_

yoshikos blush is characteristically bright. she doesnt make eye contact as she takes another drag.

_peer pressure got to me._

hanamaru raises her eyebrows. yoshiko rolls her eyes.

_you werent there, okay?_

maru feels a flash of shame.

 _are you blaming me?_ she asks.

yoshiko shakes her head and takes a few more drags before stubbing out the end.

_never could smoke them to the ends. they taste disgusting. but once you have enough, your body just starts craving it all the time._

hanamaru hates seeing yoshiko like this. she hasn’t seen yohane in weeks. its like half her entire being is missing. and what was yoshiko – once bright and self-assured – is now twisted into bitter despair. maru guessed she didnt have enough time for delusions of grandeur anymore. it was a good story whilst it lasted.

_hey, zuramuru. lets head back now. its gonna get dark soon._

hanamaru couldn’t help but remember how yohane had loved the dark.

-

theres a dress in the window. its a deep blue with white frilled trim and laced up at the back. its something yoshiko would have spotted a mile off, dragged maru and ruby across a busy road without looking and wouldnt leave the store until it was hers.

as they leave the shop yoshiko doesnt give the dress a second look and it sort of breaks hanamarus heart. at this point she wishes ruby was here just so she wasnt so transfixed on yoshiko and how not yoshiko she was.

-

as they rounded a corner, yoshiko pulled out another straight and pressed it to her lips. mumbled over how she hated them and preferred rollies but they didn’t have time for that. it hurts to hear her discussing this like it’s a science she’s figured out. how long had she been smoking anyway?

_you shouldnt resort to vices_

the look she receives from yoshiko almost shuts her up, but shes determined to try, at least.

_i just mean… doesnt dia have something that you can use?_

yoshikos gaze falls to the ground. hanamaru tries again.

_she had something for riko-_

_you cant really get medicine for what i have. and the smokings not really part of it i just… need to cut that out myself._

hanamaru dares to ask.

_what do you have?_

yoshiko shakes her head.

_im not ready to talk about that yet._

_-_

on the way home, hanamaru practices her power.

in the first week, none of them had any control. maru spent most of her time with her hand gripped tightly around ruby’s, making sure her best friend didnt forget she was there. yoshiko on the other hand had been permanently tied to dia’s wrist – ready for to yank her down when yoshiko started to float away.

things were getting easier now, at least. as easy as they could possibly be in their circumstances. chika didn’t keep them up at night anymore with her lights. maris screams stopped.

hanamaru glances at the sky.

_its late._

yoshiko jumps, probably lost in her own thoughts. she regards maru and then shrugs.

_its the winter solstice. longest night of the year. its only ten to five._

hanamaru stops walking and grips her lacrosse stick tighter. it wouldn’t be much help in a fight. hanamaru barely made it through aqour’s physical training, let along fighting off a mutant hoarde. this is why she usually left with dia or kanan. yoshiko could defy gravity for sure but she grew tired quickly and they could only float for so long.

still.

she couldnt help but smile a little. winter solstice, huh? what a yohane-esque fact to know.

_should we find somewhere to stay?_

yoshiko contemplates this, then nods.

_we should head back to that shop. there might be a cupboard we can hide in to keep safe, you know?_

hanamaru cant help herself. yoshiko is so easy to tease and for a second it feels like theyre back in school laughing again.

_you just want the dress, dont you?_

yoshiko doesnt miss a beat.

_no harm in trying it on whilst im there!_

-

the dress is beautiful. or maybe yoshiko makes the dress beautiful. hanamaru cant really tell.

these sorts of feelings are hard to decipher. its easy to pretend she knows how when shes writing a story. words come easy to her there. not so easy when she speaks.

_you should have something new too._

maru pauses for a moment. stops herself from shaking her head. from saying that nothing here would suit her, which she knew to be true. yoshiko is looking at her with a newly found gleam in her eye and its kind of breath taking. she wants to see her beam more.

 _okay._ she says. _find me something pretty._

-

hanamaru and yoshiko sit toe to toe behind the counter in their brand new dresses.

yoshiko picked out a yellow summer dress with white buttons and paired it off with a pair of strappy heels for maru to wear. she found herself a pair of combat boots that somehow went with her own dress and they raided the makeup aisle together, trying out daring looks that would be too much even for their old live shows.  they would have to take them off eventually for the practicality of travel, but it was nice to pretend for just a moment.

when they were done, hanamaru tracked down the last working refrigerator. most of its contents was out of date save a tiny chocolate trifle buried down in the bottom.

essentially, they struck gold.

as they dug in with makeshift spoons cut out of an empty water bottle, maru finally works up the urge to ask. surprisingly, yoshiko is more willing to answer now her stomach is full of sugar.

w _hen I was in middle school I guess you could say i got in with the wrong crowd. they used to… i don’t know… i guess they took advantage of how gullible i was. they liked how weird i was but only to laugh at._

yoshiko stirs her spoon around a few times but doesn’t eat anymore.

_they convinced me that since i was a fallen angel i should do all this bad stuff_

_like what?_

_well, smoking for starters._

_well, that_ is _pretty stupid, but i dont think its worth beating yourself up over. we can get over that_

_we?_

hanamaru cant place the look in yoshikos eyes. its a mix of confusion and disbelief. and something a little hopeful. hanamaru falters.

_yes, i mean. were all here to support you._

_i see._

she sounds dejected. maru knows shes said the wrong thing, always says the wrong thing, but shes not sure what shed be committing to if she said anything else.

she didnt know if she was strong enough to help someone else, when she was so useless at helping herself.

_that isnt all of it though_

hanamaru looks up and yoshiko is fiddling with the hem of her dress again.

_we broke into some places, vandalised a couple of walls. one girl wanted to set fire to something once. i guess thats when i drew the line and they said i wasnt fun anymore._

_im sorry_

it was all she could say and she felt pathetic for it.

_its okay. i went to high school a few months later_

yoshikos smile is small

_met you again._

_-_

hanamaru is shaken awaken in the morning. yoshiko is close to her face when she opens her eyes and in her dazed state the first thing maru registers is her panic.

 _theyre_ right _outside._

that alone is enough to jolt to full alertness. as she rises abruptly her temperature flushes and for a moment she thinks shes heading straight back down to the bed, but yoshiko steadies her quickly.

_shh. i dont think theyve noticed us yet._

hanamaru doesnt hesitate. she clasps her hand around yoshikos immediately and they sink back into the closet they holed up in, blinking out of sight.

_the window by the counter. it was open last night._

_i thought you closed it?_

_i thought wed need an easy escape route._

their faces are so incredibly close that maru can feel yoshiko’s panicked breaths against her cheek. they’re silent for a moment, listening to the muffled shambling outside.

_we can get to the window. if were quiet._

yoshiko looks worried but she doesnt have anything to say. she nods grimly and tightens her grip around hanamarus hand.

-

hanamaru and yoshiko stumble into the auditorium, breathless and somewhat invigorated. their laughs echo through the halls and mari blinks in surprise as they bustle in, dropping a bag full of supplies.

_fun trip?_

mari asks, finding it hard not to smile with them.

yoshiko snorts.

_what makes you think that?_

the pair fall into laughter again, heads close and hands clasped together.

theyd never had time to change out of their dresses before leaving.

**Author's Note:**

> okay so finding a writing style for this one was tricky bc I liked the lapslock style of the last one but riko’s one was v specific to her depression so I uh, idk. i still like this tho. 
> 
> and I do have more ideas for this verse but as we can see I only write once a year apparently. anyway im hoping in the next one I can include a lil more worldbuilding for the au so yeah. 
> 
> thanks for reading!
> 
> p.s. yoshiko is the autistic character if it wasnt clear.


End file.
